REMEMBERING MOMENTS I recently called my oldest older brother. I told him that there was snow on the ground outside my window, it was 19 degrees, my gardenia looked like a lime Popsicle, and I didn’t appreciate it. This time of year there’s generally a couple of feet of snow outside his Adirondacks window, 19 is downright balmy, and he’s often threatened ...

THE ENGLISH MAJOR RETORT. So here we are between the election ­– you remember the election – and the inauguration – you know, the upcoming event that even some of the Rockettes can’t raise a leg over – and we’re already exhausted. “Thy sin’s not accidental, but a trade.” (Measure for Measure) On my right, the ...

NAKED, AND UP TO SOMETHING. Of the occasions I’ve been skinny-dipping, only one had any class to it. I reprise that story as a reminder that this city truly values reality over pretense, and that is the measure of our worth. My 1982 Leadership Memphis class held their closing retreat at Pickwick. After I shared a friend’s story about a previous retreat ...

SEEDS OF SURVIVAL. I know Cary Fowler, a quiet, unassuming high school classmate and Rhodes graduate whose forward thinking worldview might very well save the planet. At the very least, what he’s doing gives the world something to look forward to in the New Year and beyond. When you consider Trump’s national security advisor traded his general’s cap ...

CHRISTMAS TIME Every Christmas I tell this story, and in the telling Christmas comes home. It was my first time to England and overseas, and prime time for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Soho. It was time to discover pubs, and Scottish eggs, bubble & squeak and spotted dick. Time to discover that bitter, served warm, is twice as strong as our brew, that a ...